A number of approaches have been devised and employed for filtering and collecting debris at storm drains. One commonly employed technique is to place a mesh sheet of plastic or other material under the grating of a street storm drain to collect debris. The exposed edges of the mesh sheet project outwardly from the grating and sand bags are often utilized to hold the exposed edges in place. The mesh sheet under the grating bulges downwardly, essentially creating a bag or receptacle for receiving debris and allowing water to flow through the sheet into the storm drain system. This approach is unsightly and has other disadvantages, not the least of which is the intensive labor involved to install and maintain the structure. Also, the obstruction created by the sand bags interferes with sweeping and other street maintenance and can even cause vehicular accidents. Retrieval and emptying of the mesh sheet with accumulated trash has attendant problems as well, not the least of which is the spillage of debris which often occurs. Furthermore clogging of the single mesh sheet can readily occur, resulting in backup of both water and debris into the street, causing flooding.
A number of arrangements have been devised which are employed at storm drains for the purpose of filtering and collecting debris. Systems of this type which are believed to be representative of the current state of the art in this field are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,198, issued Dec. 15, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,762, issued Oct. 13, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,226, issued Sep. 28, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,849, issued Aug. 4, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,758, issued Jul. 11, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,565, issued Jan. 30, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,095, issued Sep. 25, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,059, issued Mar. 11, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,446, issued Mar. 25, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,233, issued May 13, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,974, issued Dec. 23, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,804, issued Oct. 19, 2004, U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,207, issued May 30, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 7,074,326, issued Jul. 11, 2006 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,274, issued Sep. 26, 2006.
The prior art systems do not or teach or suggest the unique combination of structural elements and cooperative relationships therebetween of the apparatus disclosed and claimed herein, such apparatus being efficient, effective, easy to install, maintain and remove, with consequent labor savings and other advantages.